(2) Deforestation resulting from a reliance on slash-and-burn farming,

(3) Energy poverty and a lack of access to clean, renewable energy, and

(4) Climate change.

many USDA-ARS studies at The up coming ASA-CSSA-SSSA joint meeting;

http://a-c-s.confex.com/crops/2009am/webprogram/Session5675.htm

Our farming for over 10,000 years has been responsible for 2/3rds of our excess greenhouse gases. This soil carbon, converted to carbon dioxide, Methane & Nitrous oxide began a slow stable warming that now accelerates with burning of fossil fuel. Agriculture allowed our cultural accent and Agriculture will now prevent our descent.

Sandyn Skudneski

Biochar is well reported in the latest IPCC Report in the "Systems Management" section. (http://www.unep.org/compendium2009/PDF/compendium2009.pdf). In addition to climate, soil fertility and energy there is the strong possibility for job creation in R&D, manufacturing and O&M. Charring versus burning is also being strongly considered to responsibly deal with invasive species and pine beetle kill in the Western US.

Anthony Pollard

Don't really understand where Shirley is coming from, but from my experience the combination of fast pyrolysis and buring to the char is a promissing way to pull excess carbon from the atmosphere. There has been carbon stored below ground for millenia and we have been actively digging it up and using it to get to work. Its about time that we started to put some back in the earth.

Lopa Brunjes

Yes, from reading the bill, they are talking specifically about invasive species and standing, diseased, dead wood, which are both fire hazards that are expensive to mitigate. Bioenergy crops, which also connote appropriated agriculture for non-food crops, is not mentioned anywhere in the bill.